I want my old rental rate back

September 13, 2007 7:39 PM

Can I get my old rental rate back if my roommate moves?

I signed a 1 year lease on an apartment in January. I got a roommate in March, and as part of the agreement my rent went up 10% and we had to sign a new lease with both of our names on it as well as the new rate. This new lease began the 1 year leasing period over from the date it was signed. Well, my roommate can no longer pay rent and has to move out. I plan to stay but was wondering if I can ask the leasing company to allow me to sign a new lease and get my old rental rate back. Do landlords usually do this? Also, am I going to suffer since my roommate has to leave and is therefore breaking his part of the lease? I can't find anything related directly to this in the leasing agreement.

posted by missmle to law & government (7 comments total)

It is completely at their discretion, they may not even let you stay since the lease is now broken, buy them cookies and sweet talk them into ripping up the new lease and resign a new lease for a new term at the old rate, but they are losing money on you so be really sweet. the one thing you have going in your favor is that you are an excellent tenant, you are an excellent tenant right?
posted by kanemano at 7:49 PM on September 13, 2007

kanemano is probably right, but I wouldn't take legal advice from someone who doesn't even know what country you reside in.
posted by wilko at 8:11 PM on September 13, 2007

I'm in Los Angeles. Gosh I hope they let me stay. I'm a very good tenant, no complaints, never paid rent late.
posted by missmle at 9:58 PM on September 13, 2007

Depending on where you are that can mean a lot. My landlord could easily get two hundred more a month for my place than what we pay now. It was low when we moved in, and rents have exploded here over the last year.
However, we're the first in a long string of tenants who pay every month, on time, so she's content to keep us here and happy than risk it on yet another dud. If your landlord has had issues in the past with people paying late or not at all be sure to mention your good record with them.
posted by Kellydamnit at 10:38 PM on September 13, 2007

Landlords are unreasonably pissy about lowering rent. If you can articulate a case that there are a lot of cheap vacancies around it might help.
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:23 AM on September 14, 2007

Business owners do not "usually" sell their products for less profit than they could be earning from either the same customer or a different customer. Unless your landlord is unusually uninterested in making money, you'll basically have to be in a situation where s/he believes that two things are true:

1) You will break your lease and move out unless your rent is lowered.

2) Because finding a new tenant is costly and/or the value of an apartment like yours in your area is lower than what you are currently paying, your landlord will not be able to re-rent your apartment for enough money to make more profit than he could at the reduced rental rate you are requesting.

If your landlord believes that both of those things are true, you are likely to prevail. If s/he believes one, but not both of those things, you will not prevail. If your landlord is more concerned about being a nice person than about making money, you might prevail, but your landlord is kind of an idiot about business.

Basically, it's worth asking, but you should look at your lease terms and do a little bit of research about rental rates in your neighborhood. Figure out what the penalties are for breaking your lease. (You need to find that out anyway, because you absolutely need a new lease if your roommate is moving out. Do not have her on the lease if she's not living there. It gives her rights that you don't want her to have.) Find out what comparable apartments rent for. Then phrase your request in terms of "it's cheaper for you to keep me on at a lower rate than it would be to have me move out and have to find a new tenant." Be nice and talk about what a model tenant you've been, but make it about business, not about what your rate used to be before your roommate moved in.

They may try to raise your rate again when you sign your new, roommate-free lease, and this may become a negotiation. But if your rental rate is out of step with rates for comparable places in your neighborhood, you have bargaining power, and you should be able to negotiate something reasonable.
posted by decathecting at 7:02 AM on September 14, 2007

If you're living in the City of Los Angeles (not just the metro area, see this map) and your building is more than 30 years old, I believe it's rent controlled. See this page for general information.

If indeed you are under rent control, there is a legal limit to rent increases: 3% most years, then 4% and 5% for the last two years, I think.

I notice you said it was a 10% increase. Here's one of the listed acceptable rent increases, from this PDF:

"Ten percent for each additional tenant exceeding the number of tenants allowed in the original rental agreement. A corresponding reduction in rent is required when the additional tenant vacates the unit."

The year-long lease sounds slightly problematic, but the information in this PDF suggests that the rent must be reduced regardless. There's actually a decent chance that your landlord knows this and will not try to screw you.

I don't know if there are any additional penalties -- for you -- due to your roommate breaking your lease. My guess is no, but only at about 75% certainty.

(As a side note, when you do hit the end of your lease period, you're not required to sign a new lease -- your tenancy converts to a month-to-month if you don't, and rent control still applies.)
posted by coined at 11:24 AM on September 14, 2007